


Validation

by crumplelush



Series: Pynch Week 2018 [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam's self loathing, Gen, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumplelush/pseuds/crumplelush
Summary: For Pynch week. Day 1 (22nd July): Hogwarts AU // Famous AU // Soulmate marks AUAdam is feeling low when he decides to find out if he has a soulmate or not. The results are not what he was expecting.





	Validation

Adam had just turned 17 and was recovering from bruised ribs when he decided to do it. Being unable to breathe properly had meant less shifts at work, and less money coming in, which left Adam even more stressed than usual. He’d gotten into a horrific fight with Gansey – about his father, leaving home, financial help – and Ronan was being his usual shithead self so Adam was feeling more lost and alone in the world than ever.

He was browsing the aisle at the dollar tree, looking for shampoo and soap when he paused by the section selling mark kits. He didn’t believe in soulmarks, not really. He’d met so few people with them, and they might have been tattooed on for all he knew. But it was something that a lot of people tried. The process to discover your soulmate, should you have one, was easy and inexpensive. And while Adam didn’t believe it was really real, he was feeling low enough to try. See if there was a girl out there for him, someone who would really love him. See if he was capable of love.

He swiped one into his basket and quickly headed to the checkout, trying not to think about it the whole time. He gets home just as his father and mother are leaving, meaning he has the trailer to himself. He wasn’t planning on doing it right away, but he didn’t know when he’d next get an opportunity, so grabbed a bowl and opened the kit up.

From the instructions it looked a lot like hair dye. He mixed up the powder with the liquid and the little gel sachet in the bowl, all while wearing the protective gloves. He wasn’t sure why there were gloves when he was about to spread this stuff on his skin, but Adam was nothing if not methodical. So on the gloves went. He put the mixture in the fridge to ‘develop’ for thirty minutes and cleaned up after himself while he debated on where to put it. 

If a soulmark took, then it was permanent. There was no getting rid of it. Sure, you could cover it up with clothing and creams and make up, but there was no laser mark removal. More permanent than tattoos. So he needed somewhere inconspicuous. Where it wouldn’t be noticed by prying eyes – whether his fathers, his friends, or people at school. That left limited areas, and Adam wasn’t about to smear the stuff over his junk. He didn’t think any girl would be impressed with her name on someone’s dick.

He eventually decided on the top of his thigh. An area covered by boxers so unlikely to be seen by anyone he didn’t want to notice it, but tasteful enough that his soulmate wouldn’t be put off. He used his gloved fingers to spread the paste over his upper thigh, used some clingfilm to cover it up, and then cleaned up after himself. Even going so far as to walk down the road to the bin to dispose of the packaging – he didn’t want a trace of what he’d done left in the trailer. He pulled out his homework and resolved to put it to the back of his mind until the following morning.

*********************************************

The alarm went off bright and early and Adam quickly turned it off with an ease born of practise. He quickly showered – stripping off the clingfilm on his thigh and washing it, but purposefully not looking – and headed to the factory for his shift. He felt stupid. There wouldn’t be a mark. They were probably a big con designed to prey on naive teenagers. And even if they were real, Adam wouldn’t have one. Who would want him?

His internal monologue lasted right up until the end of the shift when he couldn’t stand it anymore. He had an hour to kill before his shift at Boyd’s started and he couldn’t take it any longer. He had to see for himself. Once he saw the blank skin he’d feel like an idiot, but he could stop berating himself and get over it.

The factory toilets were always empty between shift changes, so he got a cubicle to himself, shimmied out of his overalls, took a deep breath and pulled up his boxers. His breath caught. There was a mark. No, not a mark. A name. He had a soulmate. He looked closely at the upside down writing until the letters resolved into a name. A name that he knew. **_Ronan Lynch_**. All of a sudden Adams breathing returned full force as a panic attack hit him out of the blue.

That Adam’s soulmate was male barely registered in his mind. That Adam’s soulmate was someone he could barely stand and could barely stand him was the bit that stood out. Typical. Everyone who was supposed to love him hated him instead. Adam Parrish’s soulmate hated him as much as everyone else did. Adam burst out into laughter and couldn’t contain it. Of course. Why did he expect anything different?

**Author's Note:**

> Gloves are worn so you don't get your soulmark on your fingers, unless you want them there. There will be more to this story at a later date, but I'm moving house in twelve hours and I haven't packed like three rooms so I should probably do that first.


End file.
